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Positive Handling of Pupils

Positive
handling of pupils / physical ‘intervention’ policy

Introduction

The policy should be read in conjunction with
our ‘Behaviour’ policy, which was extensively reviewed during the Summer Term
2008 and also our Special Educational Needs policy. We have noted that bearing
in mind current guidance at this time, we do not need to issue a policy for
‘Manual Handling’ of children. Should children be admitted with these needs, an
immediate review will take place.

The use of corporal punishment is not allowed
under any circumstances. The law forbids a teacher to use any degree of
physical physical contact which is intended to deliberately intend to punish a
pupil, or which is primarily intended to cause pain or injury or humiliation
(sections 548 to 550 of the 1996 Act). The ban applies in all circumstances,
and has applied since 1987. Neither is
this document intended to encourage the use of any inappropriate physical
intervention. It does, however:

give
examples of circumstances in which physical intervention might be
appropriate, and factors that teachers should bear in mind when deciding
whether to intervene

discuss
the meaning of ‘reasonable physical intervention’.

Teachers and other persons who are authorised
by the Headteacher to have control or charge of pupils should only use such
intervention as is reasonable to prevent a pupil from doing, or continuing to
do, any of the following:

committing
a criminal offence (including behaving in a way that would be an offence
if the pupil were not under the age of criminal responsibility)

injuring
themselves or others

causing
damage to property (including the pupils own property)

engaging
in any behaviour prejudicial to maintaining good order and discipline at
the school or among any of its pupils, whether that behaviour occurs in a
classroom during a teaching session or elsewhere

The provision applies when a teacher, or
other authorised person, is on the premises, and when he or she has lawful
control or charge of the pupil concerned elsewhere e.g. on a field trip or any
authorised out of school activity.

Authorised
Staff

The Act allows all teachers at a school to
use a reasonable physical intervention to control or restrain pupils. It allows other people to do so in the same
way as teachers, provided they have been authorised by the Headteacher to have
control or charge of pupils. Those might
include classroom assistance, care workers, midday supervisors, specialist
support assistances, educational welfare officers, escorts, caretakers, or
voluntary helpers including people accompanying pupils on visits, exchanges or
holidays organised by the school. In
normal practice, only staff who have undergone specific training in the use of
physical intervention will restrain pupils.

Action
in self-defence of in an emergency

Section 550A does not cover all the
situations in which might be reasonable for someone to use a degree of physical
intervention. For example, everyone has
the right to defend themselves against an attack provided they do not use a
disproportionate degree of physical intervention to do so. Similarly, in an emergency, for example if a
pupil was at immediate risk of injury or on the point of inflicting injury on
someone else, any member of staff would be entitled to intervene. The purpose of Section 550A is to make it
clear that teachers, and other authorised staff, are also entitled to intervene
in other, less extreme, situations.

Types
of Incidents

There are a wide variety of situations in
which reasonable physical intervention might be appropriate, or necessary, to
control or restrain a pupil. They will fall into three broad categories:

where
action is necessary in self-defence or because there is an imminent risk
or injury

where
there is a developing risk of injury, or significant damage to property

where
a pupil is behaving in a way that is compromising good order and
discipline

Examples of situations that fall within one
of the first two categories:

a
pupil attacks a member of staff, or another pupil

pupils
are fighting

a
pupil is engaged in, or is on the verge of committing deliberate damage or
vandalism to property

a
pupil is causing, or at risk of causing injury or damage by accident, by
rough play, or by misuse of dangerous materials or objects

a
pupil is running in school in a way in which he or she might have or cause
an accident likely to injure him or herself or others

a
pupil absconds from a class or tries to leave school

Examples of situations that fall into the
third category are:

a
pupil persistently refuses to obey an order to leave a classroom

a
pupil is behaving in a way that is seriously disrupting a lesson

Reasonable
Physical intervention

There is no legal definition of ‘reasonable
physical intervention’. The use of
physical intervention will always depend on the circumstances of the case. There are two relevant considerations:

the
use of physical intervention can be regarded as reasonable only if the
circumstances of the particular incident warrant it. The use of any degree of physical
intervention is unlawful if the particular circumstances do not warrant
the use of physical intervention.
Therefore physical intervention could not be justified to prevent a
pupil from committing a trivial misdemeanour, or in a situation that
clearly could be resolved without physical intervention.

The
degree of physical intervention employed must be in proportion to the circumstances
of the incident and the seriousness of the behaviour or the consequences
it is intended to prevent. Any
physical intervention used should always be the minimum needed to achieve
the desired result.

Whether it is reasonable to use physical
intervention, and the degree of physical intervention that could reasonably be
employed, might also depend on the age, understanding and gender of the pupil.

Practical
considerations

Before intervening physically, a teacher
should, wherever practical, tell the pupil who is misbehaving to stop, and what
will happen if he or she does not. The
teacher should continue attempting to communicate with the pupil throughout the
incident, and should make it clear that physical contact or restraining will
stop as soon as it ceases to be necessary.
A calm and measured approach to a situation is needed and teachers
should never give the impression that they have lost their temper, or are
acting out of anger or frustration, or to punish the pupil.

Staff should not act in a way that might be
expected to cause injury, for example by:

holding
a pupil around the neck, or by the collar, or in any other way that might
restrict the pupil’s ability to breathe

slapping,
punching or kicking a pupil

twisting
or forcing limbs against a joint

tripping
up a pupil

holding
or pulling a pupil by the hair or ear

holding
a pupil face down on the ground

Staff should always avoid touching or holding
a pupil in a way that might be considered indecent. They should always try to deal with a
situation through other strategies before using physical intervention. All teachers need developed strategies and
techniques for dealing with difficult pupils and situation which they should
use to defuse and calm a situation. As
the key issue is establishing good order, any action which could exacerbate the
situation needs to be avoided. The use
of physical intervention should never be used as a substitute for good
behaviour management.

Recording
Incidents

It is important that there is a detailed
written report of any occasion where physical intervention is used. It may help prevent any misunderstanding or
misrepresentation of the incident, and where it will be helpful should there be
a complaint. Immediately following any
incident, the member of staff concerned should tell the Headteacher or a senior
member of staff and provide a written report as soon as possible
afterwards. This should include;

the
name(s) of the pupil(s) involved, and when and where the incident took
place

the
names of any other staff or pupils who witnessed the incident

the
reason that physical intervention was necessary (e.g. to prevent injury to
the pupil, another pupil or member of staff)

how
the incident began and progressed, including details of the pupil’s
behaviour, what was said by each of the parties, the steps taken to defuse
or calm the situation, the degree of physical intervention used, how that
was applied, and for how long

the
pupil’s response and the outcome of the incident

details
of any injury suffered by the pupil, another pupil or a member of staff
and of any damage to property

For a critical incident, support for the
young person and member of staff is available from the Education Psychology
Service. It should be noted that the
monitoring process will inform risk assessment and risk management.

Incidents involving the use of physical
intervention can cause the parents of the pupil involved great concern. It is always advisable to inform parents of
an incident involving their child, and give them an opportunity to discuss it. The Headteacher, or member of staff to whom
the incident is reported, will need to consider whether that should be done
straight away or at the end of the school day, and whether parents should be
told orally or in writing.

Complaints

A dispute about the use of physical
intervention by a member of staff might lead to an investigation, either under
disciplinary procedures or by the Police and social services department under
the child protection procedures. DfEE
Circular 10/95: Protecting Children From Abuse gives guidance about the latter,
and about procedures for dealing with allegations against teachers.

The possibility that a complaint might result
in a disciplinary hearing, or a criminal prosecution, or in a civil action
brought by a pupil or parent, cannot be ruled out. In those circumstances it would be for the
disciplinary panel or the court to decide whether the use and degree of
physical intervention was reasonable in all the circumstances. In that event, however the panel, or court,
would have regard to the provisions of section 550A.

Physical
contact with pupils in other circumstances

There may be some children for whom touching
is particularly unwelcome. For example,
some pupils may be particularly sensitive to physical contact because of their
cultural background, or because they have been abused. Staff should bear in mind that even innocent
and well intentioned physical contact can sometimes be misconstrued.

There are occasions when physical contact
with a pupil may be proper or necessary other than those covered by Section
550A of the 1996 Act. Some physical
contact may be necessary to demonstrate exercises or techniques during PE
lessons, sports coaching, or if a member of staff has to give first aid. Young children and children with special
educational needs may need staff to provide physical prompts or help. Touching may also be appropriate where a
pupil is in distress and needs comforting.
Teachers will use their own professional judgement when they feel a
pupil needs this kind of support.

Monitoring
and Review

This written policy was drawn up by the
Headteacher after consultation with all teaching and non teaching staff and
will formally be reviewed in accordance with the School Improvement Plan.

The first written policy was formally
presented to Governors at their meeting in the Summer Term 2005